Comfortably Numb
by Snark-N-Moon
Summary: You saw what no one else could see. -Jack/Omi drabbles.-
1. CHORES

**:CHORES:**

Sweat, hard work- these were concepts not foreign to the genius. Jack Spicer could be a hard worker, when he felt like it was a noble cause. Fighting for Shen-Gong-Wu? Worth it. Fixing up and repairing his beloved robots? Worth it. And as he got older, the sweat from a passionate night…

Quite worth it, he'd say. (Though then one would debate about whether it counted as work. And he rather not discuss it.)

Jack was in his lab. It had been many years since he had moved from the Spicer Mansion, and into the Xiaolin temple. And probably just as long since he turned his back on the ways of evil. The inventor was no longer a boy…But a man.

"Jack Spicer!"

That still, however, didn't stop him from shrieking like a little girl when he was startled. The wrench he had been holding flew into the air, and not too kindly, landed on his poor noggin.

The pale skin man cursed.

"Gah! Okay, THAT hurt. What's the big idea scaring me like that, Cueball?"

"Why, having a guilty conscious I suspect? You are a used handkerchief of deceit!"

Jack Spicer made a face of disgust.

"First of all, eww. That's unwanted imagery right there. SECOND of all, it's 'tissue of lies'. And third of all," he paused. "Um…What did I do THIS time?"

The short monk struck the beginning of a mustache. It was a new habit he had developed for whenever he was displeased. He pointed to outside.

"You promised me that you would be weeding the garden today. I see you not weeding. No weeding is what I see."

"Pfft. It's getting done. See, look, the jackbots are doing it. So what's the problem here?"

The robots were, indeed, doing what was asked of the inventor. This seemed to only make Omi frown more.

"You had promised me that YOU would do it, Spicer. "

"Yeah, but-"

"This is not teaching honor to our young students, is it not?"

"Woah. Grammar issues there. But come on, I'm not their teacher. That's your-"

"But you know they look up to you. In the eyes of the youth, you are, as they say 'cool'. And as such, I think it would be just if you set a better example." The lovable Asian flashed his winning smile, all disappointment washed away from his features. "Please?"

Jack scowled.

Omi smiled.

Jack pouted.

Omi smiled.

Jack turned his back on his lover.

But he could feel Omi's charm burning through his back. Finally, the genius threw his arms up in the air with disgust. He groaned.

"Fiiiine. But if I break a nail, you owe me."

"That is a fair trade, I believe. But unlike some…I am more than ready to do my fair share of work. Even if I get the hardest job of them all…Pleasing you."


	2. FRAGRANT

**:FRAGRANT:**

The other dragon warriors would always question when the youngest monk knew when Jack Spicer was approaching. Wuya and Chase Young would always be a mystery to them all. Omi would be just as surprised when they popped up from the shadows.

But the boy genius? Never a surprise. The monk would smile broadly, as if welcoming a friend. And, usually, he would beckon him to reveal himself.

This tended to peeve the young inventor to no end.

One day, Kimiko decided to just ask her friend his secret. How was he able to detect what others could not? What the heck was up with that?

"You do not smell it?"

"Er…Smell WHAT, Omi?"

The young warrior closed his eyes, as if living the meetings with the teenage villain all over again. He smiled.

"Jack Spicer has a very distinct scent, my friend. He has the pleasant scent of motor oil and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Very fitting for such a person, don't you agree? "

Kimiko did not agree. If anything, her actions left her with more questions than answers. But she knew one thing.

"Omi is a weirdo."


	3. WHEN IN ROME

**:WHEN IN ROME:**

"This is stupid."

Jack Spicer was not happy. He was far from happy. Happiness was in another dimension some place, mocking him.

No, the evil boy genius was feeling quite a range of different emotions. Irritability. Embarrassment. And a really bad wedgey.

…Oh, wait, the last one wasn't really an emotion.

But hey, he knew what he was feeling. And sitting in these unstylish monk robes were the bane of his existence. As well as the unbearably hot sun burning his back at full force. He did not want to be here. Spicer wanted to be inside his lab, with a million fans blowing in his face. He wanted to be in his regular clothes.

"Okay, I get that you're a monk and all…But why am I here training with you? And why do I have to dress like we shop from the same dorky store?"

Omi opened one eye to look at the pale teenager next to him. They had been sitting in a field meditating for the last hour. He closed his eyes again to focus.

"Master Fung always says it is most important to learn to be one with nature. Not only for spiritual and health purposes, but for your mental health as well. I merely thought some sun would be good for you, my friend. You live far too much in your head."

Jack sighed. "Yeah, okay. I GUESS that's fair enough…But why do I have to wear the robes?"

Smiling, Omi opened his eyes again. "As they say, 'when in China'…."

"You mean 'Rome'."

"That makes no sense. We are not in Rome."

The genius just groaned. Feeling that he won his argument, Omi went back to meditating. Jack was soon to follow suit. Five minutes went by, and they were surrounded by the music of nature. Birds chirped, crickets rustled in the grass. It was all quite beautiful. And the two young men were becoming one with it.

Omi found himself smiling again, when he heard the familiar sound of snoring.

When in Rome, indeed…


	4. A SINGLE STEP

**:A SINGLE STEP:**

I don't get it! I tried, trust me, I tried. I tried being evil; and, while I'll admit it was a lot of fun, I would always fail. I tried being good; but, my sneakier and mischievous inclinations would pop up. Could I really help myself if I got the impulses to steal a shen-gong-wu every now and again? Or that I just HAD to backstab if it meant I could get a better deal?

Either way, I couldn't be either. It was HARD. Hard to be stuck in the middle of morality and expectation. Hard to fully be one or the other. I was both; yet I couldn't be both. I failed at whatever I tried to do.

And it sucked.

When I got into one of these moods, I needed something to distract me. Usually, I set to work on fixing up my jackbots. Then as I recalled which dragon did what to which robot…I'd fume. I'd rant about how they couldn't respect a piece of mechanical genius when they saw it. And how stupid they were. And then I'd forget all about my troubles, and go bake a fresh batch of cookies.

There was no forgetting, and there were no delicious cookies.

Sweating from all my hard work, I took my palm to my brow.

"Dang, it's hot."

I looked at my reflection in the robot's armor.

"What are YOU looking at? You know, yet another plan of yours failed. Feeling better? Feeling relaxed? Don't lie to ME! I know for a fact that you aren't!"

I paused, my wrench in mid-wag as I scolded my reflection. I realized how crazy and stupid I was acting.

"Great, and NOW you're talking to yourself. Anything else you want to do before fully getting on the crazy bus?"

There was no reply. And even though I knew this was perfectly logical…It made me angry. I wanted to shout and curse at the other me. I wanted to hurt them. Make them feel a fraction of what the REAL Jack Spicer was feeling.

"STUPID!"

I threw my wrench to the ground, violently, before picking up the piece of machinery I had been working on for hours. Full of rage, I threw it across the room. It broke a few computers, and sparks started to fly. I fell to my knees.

"Stupid…"

"What is stupid, Jack Spicer?"

I looked over my shoulder, fully surprised to hear anyone. I scowled as I saw who it was.

"What are YOU doing here, short-fry? You do realize you're breaking the law, right? Doesn't that go against your goody two-shoe handbook, or something?"

Omi, the shortest of the Xiaolin monks, raised a brow. He looked confused.

"I am very sorry, but that was three different questions. Which am I to answer first?"

I groaned.

"Just go away, I'm not in the mood."

He did not do what I asked. Heck, he did the opposite of what I asked. He came CLOSER!

"I was worried. You have missed the last few awakening of shen-gong-wu. It seemed very unlike you, Spicer. Though you are from the Heylin side, I do not wish for harm to come to you. "

He paused as he looked at me. His hands unclenched and clinched sporadically. Cueball seemed almost…nervous?

Naaah. HE of all people didn't get nervous. The ignorant live in the wonderful land of bliss, right?

Lucky…

"So, " he continued, "Why have you been missing? I hope you did not take Clay's threats seriously the last time we met. I am being sure he would never soil his boots from his odd suggestion. Although, I have no idea why the lack of sunlight would soil them to begin with."

I snickered for a moment, before covering it up with a cough.

"Pleeeease. Trust me, Mister Cowboy's fancy language isn't why I've been away."

"Then…Why have you?'

I grew silent again. I thought over what I could tell him. Lying was my first instinct. Throwing myself at his knees and breaking down cry- I mean, "venting", was my second. I locked eyes with Omi, and words seemed to just spill out before I could stop myself.

"I didn't feel like it."

Huh…that worked. Not really a lie, but it saved me face. I could play the "I'm too busy. Blah blah blah" card with that. Woo hoo, go brain!

The midget seemed to be thinking my words over. He stared…and stared…and stared.

Actually, I was beginning to get creeped out.

Then Omi said something that seemed to freeze my blood and stop my heart.

"I have offered it to you in the past. But I shall do so again. Will you consider joining the side of good?"

Dude, no way did he know I had been thinking about my place. No way! The fact he had guessed so easily scared me, and made me wonder if it was written all over my face. But fear was quick to turn to anger. I practically growled.

"Get out."

"But there is much good in you!"

"Out."

"The side of evil is not for you, Spicer."

"GET OUT!"

"Why won't you consider it at all?"

"Because I don't know how to be good! I don't know how to be evil, either. I'm not anything!"

I slapped my hands over my mouth. It felt like the words burned my very lips. I couldn't believe that I had told him any of that. I looked at the monk in fear. I expected him to look superior. I expected him to laugh at me. I expected some type of harm to either my body or my ego.

What I got was two little arms enclosed around my waist. The monk's hug seemed to warm my whole being.

"You are most silly. Of course you are something. No one can be a nothing. You are you. You are Jack Spicer; and I have much faith in you. Most are not born fully on the Heylin or on the side of good. We are taught by parents, by friends, and by teachers. You must simply be taught. And I would be very happy to teach you."

I felt like bawling my eyes out. But no tears came. I felt words uncontrollably leaving my lips once more. It came out as a sigh.

"But I don't even know where to begin…"

"It begins the same way all journeys begin, my friend. All it takes is a single step."


	5. THE WALLS HAVE EARS

**:THE WALLS HAVE EARS:**

"Ugh! What the heck are we waiting out HERE for? We should go in there with the shroud of shadows, or something. They would never even know we're there."

Raimondo, the leader of the dragons, took out the said shen-gong-wu, as if to continue to persuade the others of his plan. However, this seemed to only tick the fiery teenage girl off instead. She hit him hard in the shoulder.

"OW! What was that for?"

"For being a jerk. You KNOW Omi asked if we could leave them in peace. He said he would be able to get answers out of what happened to Spicer, if we just left them alone. Where is your sense of honor?"

The two had completely forgotten about their fellow comrade. Even with his softer and more husky tone of voice, he startled the two.

"As much as the lil' lady has a point," Clay paused to fix his hat, "I think it might just be just as wrong to be tryin' ta listen to 'em through the door."

Rai looked at Kimiko with a triumphant expression.

"Yeah, Miss Honor. What's up with that?"

"Hey! We promised not to go in there….We never said we wouldn't listen."

Clay continued to be the voice of reason:

"And even if ya wanted to listen, ya can't. All the wu are on the other side of the door…Besides the shroud, o'course."

"That's why I got THIS!" The female held up a glass cup, "See, this is how people used to do it before technology and wu. Good ol' fashion spying. "

And with that, she put the glass up to the door to try to listen. Raimondo was soon to follow suit. They closed their eyes and stuck out their tongues, to try and concentrate.

All they heard was muffled voice. Nothing could be deciphered.

The dragon of wind put his hands up in frustration.

"It's not working!"

"Welp, I guess that means you two partners must settle for some other amusement. How 'bout we rustle up some grub? My treat."

Even Clay didn't need a glass cup to hear the crash from the other side of the door. Expecting some kind of double cross from the varmint, he kicked down the door. The other two were surprised, but quick to follow.

"Alright, Jack Spicer. You can't escape us this time ya yella' bellied var-"

He stopped talking when he took in everything. Omi had the albino teen up against a pedestal. He was straddling Jack's waist. They were both blushing and seemingly out of breath. Jack's lips were pinkish and puffy.

The crash was from the vase that was once sitting on top of the pedestal. Now it lied in pieces all over the floor.

Omi greeted his friends cheerfully.

"Oh! Hello, my friends!"

Jack wasn't as welcoming.

"Er, it's not what it looks like!"

Rai was the firstof the three intruders to jump in on the verbal action.

"Really? Looks like we just caught you two in a kiss lock."

The short Asian monk's smile seemed to broaden.

"My, what a good guess! That is exactly what we were doing."

"OMI!"

Jack was embarrassed. His face was growing redder and redder by the second. Soon his pale skin would be just as vibrant as his colorful hair.

The other dragons seemed to be just as uncomfortable. Omi seemed to be the only one blissful in ignorance.

Clay tilted his hat, to shield himself from the disturbing vision.

"Er, false alarm. Come on, you two. Let's get out of here."

They were happy to do so. Once they were outside, with the door shut once again, Kimiko and Raimondo both glared at Clay.

"Ugh! Dude! What was THAT about?"

"Yeah! Haven't you got any sense of honor back in Texas? He asked us not to disturb them!"

"But-"

"Great, and now I got that image of Spicer in my head. There is not enough brain bleach in the world for that!"

"But you guys-"

Kimiko took the Brazilian's arm and started dragging him away.

"Poor Rai, we'll have to see if the internet has any cure for that."

It didn't take long before they were out of site. Leaving a poor confused cowboy all by himself. He took off his hat to scratch his head.

"I'll be honest …I have no idea what just happened here. "

And he never did fully get it, either.


	6. TRUTH OR DARE

**:TRUTH OR DARE:**

The quiet shores of Africa were lovely in the moonlight. The waves crashed onto the beach, the foam quickly sunk into the sand. Soft rustling of the wind could be heard through rocks, adding a whistling tune to the night. All was peaceful.

"Hah! Too slow, losers; the wu is mine!"

Or, so it had seemed.

Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, laughed as he raced through the air with his chopper pack. His third-arm sash was around his waist, and ready to be used. As far as he was concerned, the cap of cèdìng would be his!

The young dragon monks were on his tail. The shortest warrior was the most determined, already feeling much shame for being the reason of their last defeat. Using his orb of tornami, Omi projected himself into full speed. He soared past his teammates. He soared past his enemy. And it did, indeed, look like he was going to get to the wu first. The Asian stretched his arm out, ready to grab the desired artifact. He smiled as it was in his hands.

"Ha!"

The smile faltered when he felt a rough tug. Omi looked up to see Spicer's sash trying to pull the wu away. Jack sneered.

"'Ha', nothing, chesseball. It's MINE."

He tugged violently as to demonstrate his point.

Omi, however, held on strong.

"I think not, Jack Spicer. Those who find first seek reward." He grunted as he struggled. "But those too late weep many!"

Kimiko could be heard shouting from the background.

"'Finders keepers, losers weepers!'"

"Oh! Thank you. That is certainly being much shorter!"

The cap of ceding began to glow as the two foes continued to struggle. Jack smiled as he began to form a plan.

"Okay, short-stuff. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. My third-arm sash verses your orb of tornami."

"Name your challenge."

"Truth or Dare. We fight to be the one to ask the other. Lie, or fail to complete the dare, and you get a strike. Three strikes and you're out."

"Simple!"

"Hold on, but here's the catch…you can't dare somebody to go outside their limits."

Omi paused as he raised a brow.

"That is certainly unusually honorable of you."

"Hey, I'm just saving my butt here. "

"Fair enough. I accept your challenge."

And with that, the land began to change for their match. As the water began to rise above them, becoming a dome, the sand beneath them began to sink. It startled Jack and the other warriors. For a moment, it felt like they were getting dissolved just like the very foam that hit the shore. However, it didn't take long to realize that the ground was sinking to form a pit. A ring for their battle. A score board hung over their head, just like the beautiful sea. Sharks and other fish were swimming above them.

Wuya, in her ghost form, shouted from the side lines.

"Stop staring like a fool, and win me that wu!"

"Hold your pantyhose, grandma. Sheesh. Gong Yi Tanpai!"

The battle had begun. Wu clashed, and fists met with sash. Jack wasn't much of a fighter, but had some great skills with dodging. Unwanted memories of PE flashed through his mind as the third-arm continued to block and fight; he shuddered from the very thought.

Seeing this as a distraction, Omi was able to use his orb against the teenager's head. Unorthodox, yes, but it sent Spicer tumbling to the ground. Jack landed with a fist full of sand in his mouth.

"And I believe I get to be asking the first question. Are you seeking truth…Or undertaking my challenge?"

"No need to be dramatic. 'Truth or dare' is the question!"

"Truth or dare, Jack?"

"Dare! Give me your best shot, Cueball."

Omi took a moment to figure out what he should challenge the inventor to do. He smiled with pure joy, as the perfect plan came to mind. One that would surely win the duel, and solve everyone's problems. He thought himself to be quite ingenious.

"I dare you to stop your ways of darkness, and join us on the side of good! You'd be much better off, my friend."

Everyone was quick to cover their ears, as a loud horn went off. Looking up to see where it came from, Omi was horrified to see a strike against him.

"What happened?"

The magical apparition and the evil boy genius threw their heads back to laugh. Even the third-arm sash seemed to wave about from mirth.

Wuya was the first to stop her maniacal fit of laughter to explain.

"You broke the rules of the match."

"Yeah, within limits, loser. Point goes to me!"

Before Omi knew what was coming, Jack Spicer flew towards his enemy. The water dragon was caught off guard; he had no time to duck. He cursed himself as he landed on his back.

"Truth or dare, chromedome."

"I am accepting your 'dare'!"

So back and forth the two went. Sometimes Spicer using a dirty trick to get his chance to ask, and other times violently being thrown into the sand. After a while, a pattern seemed to develop. Omi would be more than willing to accept any challenge that went his way, while the albino, oddly enough, went with the truth. Jack felt safer that way, fearing that even the innocent monk would ask something crazy of him. This noticeable battle strategy made for the two to become more and more reckless with their dares and questions. Omi would feel humiliated when he was made to pick his nose and wipe his snotty fingers on his teammates. But, Jack would feel equally so when he was made to answer personal questions. He was evil, but even he would never make the Xiaolin Warriors admit to singing Lady ShaSha songs in the shower! Or whether or not he wore footie pajamas. Or that he actually breaks down crying when he misses an episode of My Little Sea Horses….

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. The score was tied, and the young inventor was getting desperate. He didn't know how much humiliation he could take! His fear as a driving point, Jack was able to throw Omi to the ground once more. This was it, he would ask for something so crazy and outlandish, that the dragon would HAVE to fold. And then, victory would be his.

"Truth or dare?"

Omi was stiff and proud.

"Dare."

"I dare you, " he paused, his grin curling at the ends- for he knew this would be it. "I dare you to kiss me in front of all your buddies."

Everyone was startled.

"Oh, that's a dirty trick there, Spicer."

"Eww! Eww! Eww!"

'Yeah, even his momma doesn't want to kiss that face."

Wuya seemed to be the most alarmed from this.

"What do you think you are doing? You are ruining our chance for victory!"

Jack Spicer scoffed.

"No way, hag. I got this in the bag. There is noooo way he'll follow through with this. That cap is mine, baby."

Omi had been silent for all this time. If the others had been focusing on him, instead of the pale teenager, they would have seen that a great mental struggle had gone on. Finally making a decision, he struck fast. No one had seen the dragon of water coming.

Least of all, Jack.

Omi had grabbed onto the third-arm sash, violently tugging the mechanical genius down to his level. Lips clash at dangerous force, as Spicer's cry was muffled. Woah, the little guy did have it in him! That took some real determination right there. He was even willing to, begrudgingly and embarrassingly, congratulate him.

The kiss, however, continued.

Time seemed to slow down as Jack focused on the soft lips touching his own. Omi's eyes had closed long ago. First his brow was knitted with fortitude, proof of how far he was willing to go to acquire victory. But as the warmth spread from one to the other, and a shy (but pleasurable) tingle sent through his body, his brow relaxed. A blush formed on his cheeks. He was enjoying this foreign sensation a lot more than he expected.

Spicer didn't even know when the same pleasure had begun to wash over him, just like the waves overhead. Time melted away as his own eyes began to close. Young shyness met with the rougher need of desire. The evil genius didn't know why his tongue snaked out to enter the other's mouth, but he was equally confused when it was accepted.

Eventually, the two had to stop their game of tongue twister. Both huffed and puffed as they broke away, entirely out of breath. Reality was the first to crash upon he older teenager. He panicked as he realized what they had just done. His eyes darted left and taking in the slack jawed and disgusted faces of the others.

Omi, however, wasn't as upset. If anything, he did not see the reasons behind the taller boy's plight. However, knowing the battle was still on and seeing the inventor distracted, the monk grabbed the sash again. This time to flip him over his head. Spicer gave a girly scream as he flew face first into the pile of sand. He turned onto his back, and flinched as he saw Omi lurking over him. He was so nervous about what had happened early, and feared now that the water wielding warrior was going to brutally hurt him because of their actions, that he was completely surprised by Omi's next words.

"Truth or dare?"

Oh, right. They were still in the middle of a showdown, weren't they?

"Uh, truth?" Jack squeaked out.

Omi smiled shyly.

"Would you like me to kiss you again?"

Truth or lie. Truth or lie. No matter how he answered, he had lost. Lie produces a loss of wu. Truth produces loss of his dignity and reputation. And even if he did lie, the darn score board would PROOVE it was a lie.

He was trapped and royally screwed.

Jack Spicer looked Omi directly in the eyes, and with as much determination as he could muster, he replied to the monk over him:

"Yeah. And I DARE you to do it again, too."

Omi was never one to back down from a challenge.


	7. SUNRISE SUNSET

**:SUNRISE- SUNSET:**

"You know, I'll never get this."

"Get what, Dojo?"

"THIS."

The small shape shifting dragon made gestures with his arms, pointing in the direction the two older beings were staring at. Master Fung and Dojo were encased in the shadows, as the warm summer's night wind blew against them. The breeze was like a kiss on the old man's skin. Soft, and spoke of shyness.

Like the young love he and the dragon were witnessing across the Xiaolin temple grounds.

The monk and the self-proclaimed evil boy genius were holding hands as they star gazed. It was late in the night, far past either of their bedtime. They had been sneaking off into the night for some time, to be alone together when no eyes would judge them. When none would accuse and interrupt their time together.

Mast Fung had known, but it was not his place to judge.

"Oh? And what is there to get? They are merely two young children in love."

"Yeah yeah yeah, THAT I get. I can see that's what it is." Dojo then began to mutter to himself, "Sheesh. You act like I was born yesterday." Then, in a louder voice, obviously for Fung to hear, "No. I meant 'why Spicer? ' Omi's a good kid. A little clueless at times, but a good kid. And him? Booooy. Mister Bots is a bad egg! Maybe not 'evil evil', but still a trouble maker."

The master continued to watch his longest and youngest student. Fung had known him since the day he had been brought to the temple. Omi was still in diapers when his parents' lives had been stolen from them. The sixth month old child had been orphaned because of a village fire. The water dragon had not questioned the older Asian about such a thing, Fung assuming the thought had either not crossed the young mind, or that he just didn't care. But what the master did know was this: He had raised the boy. And in his heart, he could not help but consider him as his own.

His own child that was audacious enough to try to steal a gentle kiss from the slightly older albino.

"A will set on love is free from evil."

Dojo raised a scaled brow.

"He hasn't turned from the heylin side yet, Fung. I'm not even sure he can do the whole 'good' thing. He's tried that before. And we've let him deceive us. Like a kajillion times."

"I have faith in Omi and in his own faith in others. They both have much to learn."

"Oh?"

"Guide the people by law, aline them by punishment; they may shun crime, but they will want shame. Guide them by mind, aline them by courtesy; they will learn shame and grow good."

The dragon scoffed. Old man was speaking riddles again. He knew that hurt Dojo's head. And he ALSO knew that he couldn't think straight this late at night to try and decipher them.

Nor really during the day, either. But that was beside the point.

"Okaaaay. Spicer can learn to be good, got it. But how does that help baldy there?"

Fung continued to watch. This time Jack appeared to be flailing his arms about comically. Seemingly trying to deny whatever Omi had accused him of. The old monk closed his eyes, the now disappearing to his plane of thoughts. Omi was a great warrior. But where he had in strength, fighting skills and knowledge of magic…well, he lacked in everything else. He was raised by old men. There was much old men could not teach him. Much that old men SHOULDN'T teach him.

It was partially why he had seeked out the other elemental warriors. He had the most faith that they would have continued to learn without his training. They had much skill before they even reached the temple grounds. No, it was Omi who had much to learn. He had learned to respect women, and that they were equals, because of Kimiko. Clay taught Omi the power of simplicity, and how to think outside the box. And then Raimundo becoming the group's leader taught him how to lose with honor. And that he still needs to grow before he can be the Master of young. (Fung truly believed that one day he would become a teacher, just like himself.)

Then there was Spicer…

"When one friend washes another, both become clean."

The inventor was a beginning. From teaching him, would Omi grow to learn how to teach others. By choosing to look past the many faults of one, and still see the good, is how he will let the seed break through the rock to reach the sun. And to learn to love…

He will gain wisdom of himself and the world.

Master Fung smiled.

"We do no need to worry about our young dragon."

"You've been spitting out lots of proverbs tonight. Been reading fortune cookies in your spare time or something?"

The old monk opened his eyes to look at his longtime companion.

"The mushu you ordered last night was most delicious. We should order takeout from them again."

All Dojo could do was laugh, as the two turned to walk back inside. Thus leaving the two lovers to the night. And when love blooms, does a beautiful rose form.


	8. LULLABY BYE

**:LULLABY BYE:**

Robo-Jack's existence had been simple. Be Jack Spicer.

Simple, yes? How hard could it be? It looked like him. It acted like him. Heck, it even thought like the very evil boy genius that had invented him- down to his double crossing nature and all.

After double crossing his creator, Robo-Jack had nowhere to go. Okay, admittedly, the machine had not processed what its actions would do. But you see, that was not how it was programmed to be. The robot's encoding was to think like Spicer. Spicer, himself, did not think too far ahead and would double cross whenever he was offered a better deal. When Wuya had offered the deal of the mechanical boy working with her…Programming dictated the device take the chance.

This chance led to its failure.

Robo-Jack had thought long and hard over what went wrong. How did it REALLY fail? The plan had been working perfectly until the robotic boy went solo. Was it the original Jack Spicer's fault? Was he just not smart enough?

No, Robo-Jack could not insult its creator's intelligence. Doing so would be insulting its own. Processors dictate this is not what Jack Spicer would do.

Wait a moment…

"Okay, programming says to BE Jack. What does he got that I don't got?"

It took much more thinking. Days went by, and the robot just sat in its place and thought. Not getting inspiration on its own, Robo-Jack decided to watch its creator. So the overgrown toy did. It watched in the shadows as Spicer did his usual routine. The inventor had been fixing his Jackbots, as usual, when Wuya had come to him.

"Jaaaaackie, please. Let's not be hasty. You have always been my favorite. You have sooo much potential, a great young man with much evil ahead of you."

"True, true. It's all true."

The magical ghost had been trying to win Spicer over, after her own couple of double crosses. She needed someone physical who could do her bidding. Collecting wu and getting her a fleshy body alike.

"And we have always worked wonderfully together. We are a great team. We have had setbacks, yeeeeees. But this is being common to even the most seasoned Heylin warrior. But overall, you would rise up from defeat and we would be charging off again."

"You're right, I guess. We did make a pretty awesome team. Even if you were overly bossy…And yelled at me…and insulted me…and my robots." He paused. "What were you getting at again?"

"That we were a great and mighty team together?"

"Oh yeeeeah. So we were, huh? It was pretty nice, in its own way."

"Indeed it was, Spicer. Indeed it was. Surely it means we should get back together. Together, we shall defeat the Xiaolin monks and RULE THE WORLD!"

Wuya gave a nice inspirational evil laugh. She eventually stopped and looked at the evil boy genius. She smiled.

"So what do you say, Jack?"

Ah, surely he would take it! Robo-Jack had been quite inspired itself. Wuya had spoken of many great things that would win Spicer over. Every chip of the robotic boy's hard drive and processors told Robo-Jack, if it was offered the deal, to accept. It was what THE Jack Spicer would do!

"Meh. I pass."

Wuya was equally confused as Robo-Jack.

"WHAT? Why?"

"It's simple….I just don't feel like it."

And that was how they differed. Jack Spicer had free will. Even if every part of the boy told him to do it, to jump right on that sweet deal…He could choose not to. Robo-Jack was programmed to do what his creator would do, and not deviate from it. He thought like the boy genius, and yet it would not have thought of this.

Thus the robotic boy knew what it must do.

Robo-Jack's existence had been simple. Be Jack Spicer.

To be Jack Spicer he needed free will. Choice. It had taken much time, but finally Robo-Jack had done it. Once it was upgraded, the doppelganger could do as it pleased. It had instincts, yes. But now, like a real boy, it could decide for itself. The piece of machinery could choose to go against its programmed instincts.

It chose to continue to be Jack Spicer.

A few years went by, existing in this fashion. Opportunities would arise. Shen-gong-wu would appear. Alliances would come up. But instead of running after whatever deal presented itself, like a dog chasing after a car, Robo-Jack did what it felt like. Sometimes it would decide to join in on the fun, other times it decided to hold back. Things were nice.

One day Robo-Jack had went after the same shen-gong-wu its creator was gone after. It was an odd reunion of sorts, both of the Spicers flattering and insulting each other. However, their fun was interrupted when the Xiaolin Warriors showed up.

That was when Robo-Jack had started to notice some strange things.

The creator and the dragon of water had been acting…Different, somehow. They wouldn't look each other directly in the eyes. And when one wasn't looking, they would stare at each other. Only to quickly look away when they feared they were caught. Blushes threatened to stain their skins permanently.

It did not compute.

Other than that, the showdown went on predictably. Spicer, yet again, lost the wu to the good guys. However, instead of the usual gloating over his victory, Omi had congratulated the heylin inventor for his ingenuity. Jack had blush, quickly waving off before turning his back. This did not seem to faze the monk, as he and the other elemental dragons got on Dojo's back and flew off.

This left the two Jacks alone together.

"Dude, what was THAT all about?"

The teenager jumped, startled. He quickly pulled himself together to reply.

"W-what was WHAT about?"

"You and Cheddarhead were acting weird."

"Was not!"

"Was to!"

"WAS NOT!"

"WAS TOO!"

"NOT! NOT! NOT! "

Robo-Jack decided to use a different tactic. One it had noticed worked especially well when going up against Kimiko in battle. Something meant more to tease and throw the challenger off guard, than to be serious.

"What, he's your boyfriend or something?"

Jack Spicer's face grew as vibrant as his red hair. His cheeks burned and stung with embarrassment. He was silent for a while, before scoffing. The genius pushed a button before his helipack ascended him off the ground.

"Pfft. Whatever, loser. I'm out of here. Stay handsome, Robo-Jack."

And with that, he shot off into the air.

Leaving a terribly confused robot.

"I don't get what the heck is going on!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Chase Young jumped off the top of the cliff he had been perched upon. He had been watching the whole exchange with much interest. Omi's adventures had been the older Heylin villain's obsession. Chase watched as the young monk grew into a man with much fascination.

If Robo-Jack could feel, he would have found it creepy.

The mechanical boy had not been surprised when the half dragon showed up. But instead, answer in a dead pan voice.

"Uh, no?"

"I believe you hit the nail on the head with Spicer without even trying, my robotic friend."

"When I said he was a hot piece of man meat? The part where we called chromedome hilarious insults?"

"No, you imbecile. The part where you amusingly accused them of being lovers. "

"Oh."

The overgrown toy frowned. Their logical sides not having this compute at all. Why would Spicer or Omi find the other one attractive? They're on opposing sides, for one. And hadn't the teenager even encoded into the robot how awful all the monks were? Robo-Jack could produce a list with a million and one reasons to dislike each one. Even the slightest remarks like being pudding cup thieves.

All which had been programmed into him by his young inventor.

"Are they dating?"

"No." Chase looks into the false eyes of the machine. "That is, they aren't presently. But it is easy to see that they are attracted to each other. Like opposing magnetic poles, or like the moon tugging on the ocean waves."

So they had the hots for each other, got it. Robo-Jack didn't understand why, but it did understand that they weren't together. Spicer wanted the monk, but had not been up front with him yet.

Again, it must have been the "free will" thing that humans were built with.

Fine, the machine understood what he had to do.

Robo-Jack's existence had been simple. Be Jack Spicer.

To be Jack Spicer, the doppelganger had to go against its programming. It had to look past all the faults and such of the young dragon of water. To do what its creator wanted and hadn't made the moves to do yet.

Robo-Jack had to woo Omi into being his.

It had not been the easiest task. The android had worked for months on trying to court the dragon of water. While Omi had much faith in that the original Spicer had good deep down, he did not know enough about robots to determine if they were the same. But internal instructions indicated that when a Spicer set on a task, they don't give up easily.

Yet another night went by, and Omi could night sleep. Robo-Jack had been visiting him almost every evening, trying to woo the monk. Omi pondered to himself if that meant he was actually waiting for the android to visit him.

Before he could decide for himself, Omi's ears perked up when he heard the familiar sound of a helipack. He looked up.

"Visiting again, my friend?"

"You know it, babe. I figured otherwise you'd be a mess without me. Seeing as you're getting a bad case of Jack-addiction."

Omi couldn't help but smile.

"How very kind of you."

"So what happened in the wonderful world of Cueball today?"

The two got into a conversation, both sharing their days. Omi retold what he found to be a hilarious story of how Raimundo had pranked them all. Only after retelling his story did he find that he should have been angered rather than amused. But that was all right, Omi laughed it off anyway. Robo-Jack felt nothing. They then began to retell their day, action by action. There were no feelings. Somehow even the most human of actions, getting void of life.

It made Omi frown.

Finally it was getting late, and Robo-Jack, yet again, asked Omi if he'd like to go out sometime.

This time instead of playfully shooting out "we shall be seeing", the dragon of water sighed.

"No. I do not think that is wise."

"WHAT? Why?"

Omi looked into the false red eyes of the android. The eyes that were eerily the same as the man he was smitten of. Omi had hoped with the robot, he could at least pretend they were real. But looking into those eyes devoid of emotion only set his thoughts firmly into place.

"I will be most honest with you. I am indeed infatuated with Jack Spicer. And I had hoped with you and I, we could at least be developing a friendship. " He paused. "But I do not think this would even work out. You and I are very different, Robo-Jack."

"Yeah, just as different as you and Spicer. Yet you like HIM."

Omi looked sadly at the android.

"Yes, but you and Jack Spicer are very different. Oh so very different. When I talk to him, even as an enemy on the side of darkness, I can sense him. He has feelings. When he taunts us or gloats, he does so with life. When you and I speak, even on terms of equal ground…Nothing comes from you. You can not feel. You can not love. And I can not love someone who will not share the pleasure with me."

"Oh…I see."

"I am very sorry."

Robo-Jack's existence had been simple. Be Jack Spicer.

To be Jack Spicer, he must feel. Robo-Jack acted the way his creator acted…but it did not feel the same. The robot's actions had no emotions behind it. The mechanical boy thought back to what the heylin inventor once said to Wuya.

_"It's simple….I just don't feel like it."_

Robo-Jack began to understand that it was more than free will that dedicated his actions. Spicer must have had emotions behind that choice as well. By that point, Wuya had betrayed the teenager time and time again. A part of Spicer must have been hurt by the betrayal.

Hurt…

Even an emotion, such as this, Robo-Jack did not feel.

Fine, Robo-Jack would correct this too.

It had not taken long to create a chip that would simulate such emotions. It had taken years, however, to control them. Once Robo-Jack had inserted the chip, it felt a jar to its hard drive. So many emotions had hit it at once. The android felt rage as it knocked over tools in its lab. The mechanical boy felt pain in its frame. There was love, there was hunger, and there were so many good emotions in there too!

But at the same time, so many ones that made the robot want to end its own existence. Robo-Jack realized how alone it was. And the android felt rejected by everyone the mechanical boy had been in contact with.

Robo-Jack was feeling the same emotions Jack Spicer had felt all his life. Realizing this made the automaton see how dead it was. And now, it felt so alive.

Too alive.

Going from none to all emotions sent its hard drive into overtime. It made calculating and deciding much harder. Robo-Jack felt like it was juggling so much at once. It had been over five years once the mechanical boy felt comfortable and in control.

However, by the time Robo-Jack had went back to China, both its creator and Omi were no longer boys. They were men.

Two young men who had long since exposed their feelings to each other. Two young men who were deep in love. Omi had even, with his own innocent and affectionate nature, won Spicer over to the side of good.

Robo-Jack was startled how different they had become. It was because it made the mechanical boy grasp the fact it had not changed in physical appearance over the years. The robot still looked like the thirteen year old boy that its creator had once been. But that was okay, it thought to itself, for the android had changed in many other ways. It had grown in ways that the robot had not in looks. All would be well, and Omi would now see the love in Robo-jack's eyes.

Omi had been startled when he saw Jack's old doppelganger. Robo-Jack had hugged the older monk affectionately, and told the dragon of water about all the work it had done. Starting from the very first day it had noticed its differences from its creator. Robo-Jack had spoken with much life, something that had been missing from the last conversation they had shared. It was evident to the point even Omi went on the emotional rollercoaster with them. They had shared laughs. They had shared tears.

Finally Robo-Jack had gotten to the end of its story, looking expectantly into Omi's eyes.

"I've tried everything. I've done everything that I possibly could. I've gave myself emotions just like you wanted me to. What do you say? Will you be mine, babe?"

Sadness, once more entered the monk's eyes. Sadness and pity.

"I fear you have missed the meaning of my words, all those years ago."

"Wait…I did?'

"Yes, my friend. You see, Jack and I are together now. I did not mean the only reason we could not be together was because you lacked emotions. While this was true, there was more than that."

The android felt hurt and confused. It had truly done everything it could to fulfill its programming. If the robot had tear ducts…

"What? I…I need to know what else I can do! I've done everything to be like Spicer!"

"That is the problem. Try as you might…You will never be the man I fell in love with."

Robo-Jack's existence had been simple. Be Jack Spicer.

The android had been doomed from the start.


End file.
